Powerful Modification Technology

Amid wild roars and strange cries, the young Ninjas' bodies rapidly underwent drastic changes, transforming them into half-human, half-animal forms.

At the same time, their auras swelled rapidly, reaching a level that made even the Kirigakure Jonin feel threatened.

One or two such young Ninjas were nothing to fear, but if there were three, five, seven, or eight of them, even Jonin might be in trouble.

"Well? Want to go up and test them?" Vegapunk looked at the Kirigakure Jonin and spoke with a smile.

"Then I'll give it a try!" The first to step forward was the Ninja named Ao. Though he was a support-type Ninja, Ao's strength fully lived up to his Jonin rank. More importantly, with the Byakugan, he could better gauge the strength of these young Ninjas.

Sea Ninja Village could not possibly have so many geniuses. Even if the Ninjas of the same age from every Ninja village were gathered together, it was uncertain whether they could scrape together fifty.

Thinking of the latest technology Vegapunk had said he wanted to show them, then looking at the changes in these young Ninjas, all the Kirigakure Ninjas could guess that they had clearly undergone special enhancement. This was likely Vegapunk's trump card for persuading them.

But did this enhancement have limits? Would it damage their potential? Did it have any side effects?

The Kirigakure Ninjas knew little about such matters. Therefore, having Ao, who possessed the strongest observational ability, take action was naturally the best choice.

Ao had other thoughts as well. The transformation abilities of these young Ninjas reminded him of the transformations Suikazan Fuguki and Karatachi Yagura had displayed when they fought.

The increase in strength and Chakra intensity was vastly different, and even the changes in body size were completely unlike one another. Yet in Ao's Byakugan, these transformations of bodily structure were indeed cut from the same cloth.

If that was true, and if these modifications had no side effects...

Ao felt a faint excitement stirring within him. If this was real, what did it matter if the two Ninja villages merged? As long as the cake was made big enough, no one would go hungry. If they could truly raise every Ninja's strength by an entire level, Kirigakure could sweep across the entire Ninja World. Even occupying the Fire Country would not be a problem!

Ao stepped forward, and a Ninja stepped out from the other side as well. He appeared to be the strongest among all the young Ninjas.

After transforming, this Ninja had become huge, his entire body covered in white fur. He looked like an enormous humanoid bear. Vegapunk thought for a moment before recalling that he had likely used White Bear Gene Modification Fluid.

Gene Modification Fluid based on bears and apes did not enhance Ninjas any less effectively than those derived from fierce carnivores. They had always been popular among all enhancement fluids.

These animals' limbs were naturally very similar to those of humans, and their palms were also suited for forming Hand Seals. They could basically make use of the full enhancement effect without changing their fighting habits.

The two sides merely glanced at each other. Without forming any opposing hand sign, they began fighting directly.

"Water Release, Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Water Release, Water Rush Wave!"

Aside from his Byakugan and sensory abilities, Ao was a standard all-round Jonin with no obvious weaknesses. What he excelled at most was Kirigakure's Water Release.

The opposing Ninja had tough skin, thick flesh, and immense strength. He also knew quite a few Water Release Ninjutsu, but compared with Ao, he was inferior by far more than one level.

The two Water Release techniques collided. Moments later, the Water Dragon Bullet crushed the Water Rush Wave, forcing the White Bear Ninja to use Water Wall to block it.

After several exchanges of Water Release, the White Bear Ninja stopped using Ninjutsu. Instead, he charged forward directly, intending to exploit his Physical Body advantage and engage Ao in close combat.

Ao's figure flickered. With the Byakugan, he might not know Gentle Fist, but his Taijutsu was clearly no slouch.

The opposing Ninja's physique might have become somewhat stronger than that of an ordinary Jonin after transforming, but Ao was no ordinary Jonin! In terms of combat skill, he was several streets ahead of the young Ninja.

If not for his desire to observe the other Ninja's various conditions more thoroughly, Ao could have easily subdued him within a few moves.

But now, he defended seventy percent of the time and attacked thirty percent, neither too fast nor too slow as he gradually circled around his opponent. He observed the force exerted by his body, the movement of his muscles, the functioning of his internal organs, and the flow of his Chakra, looking for any major flaws or signs that he was burning away his life force.

After circling each other for more than ten minutes, Ao saw that the White Bear Ninja remained full of spirit and stamina. Though he himself was beginning to feel somewhat fatigued, he had to admit that his opponent's increase in strength was indeed a fundamental improvement, without the slightest hint of strain. At least, his Byakugan could not detect any problems.

Having reached his conclusion, Ao naturally stopped holding back—mainly because he discovered that the opposing Ninja not only possessed remarkable stamina, but also life force and recovery abilities so vigorous they barely seemed human. If he dragged things out for another ten minutes, he might actually be worn down by his opponent!

With a casual press on the opponent's shoulder, the young Ninja felt his shoulder go numb, and his Chakra was completely cut off. Taking advantage of the moment when his opponent's arm could not move and his defenses were wide open, Ao struck his chest with a palm. Chakra passed through his body, directly stopping the young Ninja's heart and sending him into shock.

Though he did not possess the Hyuga clan's inheritance, Ao had still managed to work out some basic applications of the Byakugan. Those two moves had been more or less imitations of pressure-point strikes and Gentle Fist.

Though they were merely imitated techniques, they could only be considered unexpected tricks against truly experienced Jonin and would not have much effect. Against an inexperienced young Ninja, however, they were already enough to determine victory or defeat.

The young Ninja had merely gone into shock after his heart stopped for a moment. He was quickly carried away for emergency treatment. After winning, Ao stepped back two paces. Once he had caught his breath, he looked at Vegapunk. "Can I pick a few opponents?"

Vegapunk raised an eyebrow and answered with complete confidence, "Go ahead. I wouldn't mind even if you tested every last one of them!"

In truth, Vegapunk had never expected these young Ninjas to defeat the Kirigakure Jonin who had been steeped in the Bloody Mist. The gap in experience and skill between them was not something Chakra and physique could make up for. Besides, their Chakra and physiques were not stronger than those of Jonin anyway.

His main goal was simply to let these Jonin see the potential of these young Ninjas. He refused to believe that these Jonin would not be tempted by his technology.

Although Vegapunk said that, Ao did not dare to truly fight these young Ninjas one after another. He estimated that he would be exhausted after fighting two more. Even if he did not waste a shred of stamina at the start, his limit would only be five or six opponents in a row.

Besides, he was only testing whether Vegapunk's modification technology had any problems. Picking a few people to examine was enough.